(dramatic church organ music) (uplifting church organ music) 

- Good morning. Welcome to the service of worship in Duke University Chapel. This is our last Sunday for our summer choir under the direction of Miss Donna Sparks and we thank the members of the summer choir for their faithfulness this summer, they've added a great deal to our worship. And we thank them for the use of their gifts. We welcome the members of the National Campus Ministry Association who are here for a week long campus at Duke. We are helping to host the gathering of these persons who work around the campuses of our nation and Christian ministry. Our preacher for the day is the Reverend Ms. Nancy Ferree. Assistant Minister to the university and the person who coordinates the campus ministry here at Duke. And now let us prepare to lift our voices in the praise of God. ♪ Praise Him, the Lord of hosts ♪ ♪ Sing His salvation ♪ ♪ Bless His name ♪ ♪ Show forth His praise ♪ ♪ In His holy house ♪ ♪ Praise Him, the Lord of hosts ♪ ♪ Sing His salvation ♪ ♪ Bless His name ♪ ♪ Show forth His praise ♪ ♪ In His holy house ♪ ♪ And shall He bless ♪ ♪ Oh ye heavens now be joyful ♪ ♪ Christ bringing peace to the Earth ♪ ♪ All mankind shall all sing ♪ ♪ Alleluia ♪ (drum roll) (uplifting trumpet music) (church organ music) (singing in foreign language) 

- Each time we gather to praise God, we remember that we are God's people, who have preferred our wills to God's will. Therefore let us humbly confess our sin before God and one another. Seated. Let us pray. Oh most gracious God, we confess that we spend much of our lives on that which does not satisfy. We do not always count our time and resources as precious gifts, but squander them in meaningless activities and material excesses. Look kindly upon us, for the temptation to waste is overwhelming in our world. Enable us to discern the true source of meaning and to use the gifts of life responsibly. For we want to be your people in word and in deed. Amen. Hear the good news. Christ died for us. While we were yet sinners. This is God's own proof of His love toward us. In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven. 

- In the name of Jesus Christ, we are forgiven. (dramatic church organ music) ♪ God is in me ♪ ♪ And God is with you ♪ ♪ Lord almighty save us ♪ ♪ God save on thee ♪ ♪ The darkness ♪ ♪ There's no darkness in me ♪ ♪ God almighty ♪ ♪ Is light as the day ♪ (harmonized melody) ♪ God is light ♪ ♪ And in Him there's no darkness ♪ ♪ In him there's no darkness at all ♪ ♪ The darkness and the light ♪ ♪ Let my soul live ♪ ♪ Let my soul live ♪ ♪ For thine is the kingdom ♪ ♪ The power and the glory ♪ (harmonized melody) ♪ God is in me ♪ ♪ And God is with you ♪ ♪ Lord almighty save us ♪ ♪ God save on thee ♪ ♪ God save ♪ ♪ On thee ♪ 

- Let us pray. Open our hearts and minds, oh God, by the power of your Holy Spirit. So that, read and proclaimed, we might hear with joy what you say to us this day. Amen. The first lesson is taken from the Second Book of Kings. Now when Elisha had fallen sick with the illness of which he was to die, Joash, King of Israel, went down to him and wept before him crying. "My father, my father. "The chariots of Israel and its horsemen." And Elisha said to him "Take a bow and arrows." So he took a bow and arrows. Then he said to the king of Israel "Draw the bow." And he drew it. And Elisha laid his hands upon the king's hands. And he said "Open the window eastward." And he opened it. And Elisha said "Shoot." And he shot. And he said "The Lord's arrow of victory. "The arrow of victory over Syria. "For you shall fight the Syrians in effect "until you have made an end of them." And he said "Take the arrows." And he took them. And he said to the king of Israel "Strike the ground with them." And he struck three times and stopped. Then the man of God was angry with him and said "You should have struck five or six times." "Then you would've struck down Syria "until you have made an end of it. "But now you will strike down Syria only three times." So Elisha died and they buried him. This ends the reading of the first lesson. (church organ music) ♪ Sing a new song to the Lord ♪ ♪ Sing a new song ♪ ♪ Sing a new song ♪ ♪ Sing a new song to the Lord ♪ ♪ Sing a new song to the Lord ♪ ♪ For God has done wondrous things ♪ ♪ He cast us down the Holy Ghost ♪ ♪ Salvation in Christ ♪ ♪ Sing a new song to the Lord ♪ ♪ Sing a new song ♪ ♪ Sing a new song ♪ ♪ Sing a new song to the Lord ♪ ♪ In His presence they join on victory ♪ ♪ Now justice is known unto all ♪ ♪ Oh Israel shout out your praise ♪ ♪ Remember God's loving heart ♪ ♪ Sing a new song to the Lord ♪ ♪ Sing a new song ♪ ♪ Sing a new song ♪ ♪ Sing a new song to the Lord ♪ ♪ So sing to the Lord, rejoice ♪ ♪ Bring God to songs of praise ♪ ♪ With joy (mumbles) ♪ ♪ Praise the Lord ♪ ♪ Sing a new song to the Lord ♪ ♪ Sing a new song ♪ ♪ Sing a new song ♪ ♪ Sing a new song to the Lord ♪ (dramatic church organ music) (singing in foreign language) 

- The second lesson is taken from Paul's letter to the Colossians. If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above where Christ did. Seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things that are above. Not on things that are on Earth. For you have died and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory. Put to death therefore what is earthly in you. Fornication, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness which is idolatry. On account of these, the wrath of God is coming. In these you once walked. Within you lived in them. But now put them all away. Anger, wrath, malice, slander, and foul talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another. Seeing that you have put off the old nature with its practices, and have put on the new nature which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. Here there cannot be Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free man. But Christ is all and in all. This ends the reading of the second lesson. 

- A reading from the gospel according to Saint Luke. One of the multitude said to Jesus "Teacher, bid my brother divide the inheritance with me." But He said to him "Man, who made me "a judge or divider over you?" And He said to them "Take heed "and beware of all covetousness. "For a man's life does not consist "in the abundance of his possessions." And He told them a parable saying "The land of a rich man brought forth plentifully "and he thought to himself what shall I do? "For I have nowhere to store my crops. "And he said I will do this. "I will pull down my barns and build larger ones. "And there I will store all my grains and all my goods. "And I will say to my soul, soul, you have "ample goods laid up for many years. "Take your ease. "Eat, drink, be merry. "But God said to him fool, this night "your soul is required of you. "And the things you have prepared, whose will they be? "So is he who lays up treasure for himself. "And is not rich toward God." Here ends the reading of the lesson. The problem of human possessing. What are we to do with the things that we have, and how would the Christian faith direct us? I suppose most of us, myself included, in anticipating a sermon on a Sunday morning, hope to hear a concise, straightforward description of actions and attitudes which we can take home with us and get something practical out of. By adhering to such a code of behavior, we like to think we will assure ourselves of our Christian identity. Surely this is not asking too much of the preacher to deliver. After all, isn't the bible upon which she is expounding the Christian rule book? In listening to its words read aloud each week, will we not discover a consistency in this code of behavior that will tell us how to order our lives? The answer, at least in regards to a perfectly consistent understanding of possessions, is no. Rather than being a rule book, the scriptures stand as a body of witnesses to what it means to live a human life before God. As for what it says about possessions, the examples are many and varied. The disciples, for instance, are told by Jesus to renounce everything and to follow the master, and they did. So was the rich young ruler, and he did not. But not all who were called to follow Jesus were instructed in this manner. A group of women known to be followers of Jesus all the way to the cross provided for Him and the disciples out of their own means. Zacchaeus, a tax collector who happened to be very rich, promised Jesus he would give half of his possessions to the poor and repay fourfold any he had defrauded. This is a generous response to be sure, but not absolute renunciation. Even half a bundle may still be a bundle. Consider Martha and Mary who, after extending hospitality to Jesus in their home, so far as we know, were not asked to sell their home and follow Jesus. We read of the practice of almsgiving and of holding possessions in common in the early church. And Saint Paul himself was known to have worked for a living, able to earn enough to meet his own needs, and those of others who were more needy. It appears then that there is at least a logical tension between the ideals listed in scripture of wandering destitution, almsgiving, hospitality, and a community of goods. And so we ask ourselves to be a real Christian, must I give away all that I possess? Should I join a commune? Or should I make enough money to give generous alms? Clearly the biblical writers agreed on the importance of the use of possessions as evidenced by the frequent mention of the topic, but without giving us a consistent standard. How can the bible, if it fails as a rule book, still inform our thinking about possessions? Text such as today's gospel are helpful in the way they enlighten us not so much about how many possessions we should have as about what they represent in our lives and the dangers inherent within them. Jesus is instructing the disciples when He's interrupted by a man inquiring about his inheritance. "Take heed," Jesus replied, "and beware of all covetousness. "For a man's life does not consist "in the abundance of his possessions." He tells the parable of the rich fool to demonstrate the folly of covetousness. The failure to see the distinction between what one has and what one is. The farmer in this story is a familiar personality type to most of us, and a rather admirable one at that. At least up to a certain point. We might think of any number of adjectives to describe him. Prudent, hardworking, honest, frugal. The blessings of soil, rain, and sun, not to be taken by many farmers this summer for granted, had combined to make this man a rich farmer. But his response to the bountiful supply was shortsighted indeed. Did he offer a prayer of thanksgiving for God's blessing? Did he inquire as to the needs of his neighbors? No. He became anxious and obsessed with his situation. Typical responses of a covetous person. "What shall I do," was his immediate response, "for I have nowhere to store my crops." Momentarily, his indecision gave way to compulsion. As he decided to tear down the old barns and build bigger ones in which to store his crops. This farmer was not a criminal. Neither was he wasteful, careless, or irresponsible. If none of these, then what was he? According to the parable, he was a fool. Thinking that he had laid up his security for years to come, he lived completely in and for himself. He talked to himself, he congratulated himself, he planned for himself taking no consideration for others or for God. This parable reaches a dramatic climax when the farmer dies that very night and God's parting question is left only to haunt the listener. "The things you have prepared, whose will they be?" This farmer has made the fatal mistake of submitting to the urge to horde his possessions as a guarantee against insecurity. Not only was this an act of disregard for those in need, but it put material goods in the place of God. Even if God had smiled on this year's crop, the farmer certainly didn't trust him to do it again next year. And so we understand Paul's reason for referring to covetousness as idolatry. The farmer, in equating life with his possessions, turned a blessing straight from Heaven into an idol. Rather than looking to God as the center of his life and a source of security, he sought his center in his possessions. It is idolatry which is the sin of this farmer. Not the abundance of his possessions in themselves. Now idolatry may sound to some of you like a droll but harmless quirk of ancient peoples. A matter of political and tribal rivalries writ large in cosmic powers. Does idolatry really involve genuine and enduring issues of human freedom? I believe that it does. Let us attempt to define how. Idolatry. According to Dr. Luke Johnson, a former New Testament professor of mine, "Idolatry is the choice of treating "as ultimate and absolute anything "which is neither absolute nor ultimate. "We do so by the worship, we pay it. "Not the worship of praise or of incense, but of service. "In reality, my God is that which I serve by my freedom. "It is anything which rivets my attention, "centers my activity, preoccupies my mind, "motivates my action. "That, in virtue of which I act, is God. "That for which I will give up anything else is my God." None of us may ever face the threat of idolatry in the form of grains stored in barns like this farmer, but we can reflect upon the question of what our own idols look like by asking a few simple questions. What is it, really, that motivates us to get up and face each day's activity? What is it that we will make room for during the day, no matter of frenetic our schedules? By what measure do I look back over the day, or week, or year, and consider it a success or failure? When I lie awake in bed at night with a feeling of discontent, is it because I did not complete all the work I intended for that day, fell flat on my face in front of someone I wanted to impress, or failed to perform as well as I could have on an examination? Do I think of myself as a success or failure in relation to others, and on what basis? My health. My friends, my family. My looks. My work. My fame, my fortune. These are not complicated questions, but they are challenging for they have a way of locating the center of our lives and pointing toward our idols. And what, or where, do I seek my sense of worth and identity? We may discover it's not only in the things we possess, but also in careers, relationships, and personal qualities which we attempt to possess. And which so surreptitiously become our idols. Cloaked in the veils of ambition, upward mobility, or self-improvement, we may not always recognize them as such. Yet in a contemporary way, they can be just as much of a diversion to faith as the golden calf was to the Israelites. How seductive these temptations of idolatry can be. And what often feels like a tenuous existence at the very best, we are lured into thinking we can manipulate ultimate power. The idolater says this which I can see, and feel, and handle, and use, can be the ultimate source of my worth, the heart of my identity, the basis of my security. The power I have can be the measurement of my value. Any effective television advertisement can convince us of that. Thus claiming to possess what we identify as ultimate power we make claim to possessing ourselves until we begin to believe.